Thank you to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of Sam Blake's Three Little Birds.

Sam Blake is one of my favourite authors and have enjoyed each of the books I've read so far.
I love the Irish setting, and the characters have depth and personality. Dr Carla Steele is the main character who has an interesting job at Garda HQ as a facial reconstructist. Carla is asked to assist on a case when a skull is found. Soon enough another body turns up, and these cases are seemingly unrelated to each another.

There are family secrets and twists and turns, and as with other Sam Blake mysteries, you really want to carry on reading.

Sam Blake has a great talent for creating great stories with believable characters that conclude well.

Well I’m a little bit speechless. What an absolutely brilliant book from the beginning, right up to the end!

I love Sam Blakes books and have been fortunate to read quite a few of her books and this was just as good as all the others.

This book is fast paced and jam packed with a brilliant storyline. I didn't see the killer being who it was and that was a brilliant twist.

I loved how the case unfolded and was invested in the story from start to finish.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fascinating, gripping and intriguing read. A page turner I couldn't put down and kept me guessing.
Loved it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was my first time reading anything by Sam Blake and I believe I have found a new favourite author! I loved this book from start to finish and I hope that the author continues writing books about the central characters. This was a five star read for me and one of my favourite reads so far this year!

Loved this. Loved the story and characters. Felt really engaged with the whole novel. Hope the writer continues this series

The story is set in Ireland, Dr Carla Steele is a forensic anthropologist and she does facial reconstructions, when a body is found and the police have no idea who it is, Carla may be called in to try and rebuild the face from the skull, there is a lot of work involved in doing

DS Jack Maguire contacts Carla and asks her if she would reconstruct a skull they have found at the bottom of Lough Coyne. Carla’s partner Grace is a criminal psychologist. These three decide to work together to try and find out what is going on.

The initial pace is slow as the reader learns bits about each character, but later in the story the pace picks up and you find yourself drawn in to the story. Carla is the main narrator, although it does at times give you other pov. This case holds some difficulty for Carla as years earlier one of her friends disappeared and has never been seen since, so finding out who the skull belongs to is important for Carla. If she can give one family closure it is something.

As the plot moves along, hints are dropped about who it could be, I liked that the reader is left to guess about who the murderer is. I had no idea so was very surprised when the killer was revealed.

This is an interesting police procedural, with more than one murder taking place. Can you guess who the killer is? Is there more than one?

The story is focused mainly on the three main characters, who hopefully we will meet again and get to know more about them. All three are likeable and believable, so from here things can only get better, they make a good team.

Three Little Birds by Sam Blake is an Irish dark thriller.
In short, a skull is found in a lough and facial reconstruction expert Dr Carla Steele is drawn into a 14 year old case which escalates into a shocking discovery and two decades of secrets.
I enjoyed Three Little Birds which I’d describe as a classic whodunnit with an investigation which escalates at speed. Plenty of characters in the mix to build the story and enough clues to work out the baddies! I liked the dynamics between Carla, Grace and Jack and I wonder too if they are set up for a new series?
Big thanks to Sam Blake, Atlantic Books and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

When a skull is found in Lough Coyne, forensic facial reconstruction expert Dr Carla Steele (of the Forensic, Anthropology and Computer Enhancement department based in An Garda HQ in Phoenix Park Dublin) is called upon to help the local Gardai with this cold case.

As is her custom, Carla wants to see the location of discovery and hopes to gain some insight into the victim and a possible reason for such a tragic demise.

With this in mind, she and her partner, criminal psychologist Dr Grace Francoisi, head off to Coyne Cross to blend business with the pleasure of a much-needed weekend break.

Unfortunately, while Carla is being shown the area surrounding the lough by DS Jack Maguire, who is leading the investigation, they come across a much more recent crime: a local woman, gruesomely murdered.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t take long before the evidence mounts: our two cases are linked, and the help of Carla and Grace will be essential for the local police.

Since the disappearance of her best friend, Carla has dedicated her career to bringing the dead home, but this time, it’s the living who are counting on her. Will they be able to stop the killer before they strike again?

Enter an excellent cast of characters - Coyne Cross is a small town, the kind where everyone knows everyone and everything about each other, or so they like to believe. But dig beneath the carefully curated surface, and they all have plenty of secrets to unravel, some much darker than others.

Now, this isn’t exactly the most fast-paced thriller ever read, but that’s no bad thing here. Blake’s character building (each with a well thought out backstory) and ability to weave a bone-chilling tale with a steady stream of mounting evidence is top class.

Three Little Birds is a gripping, gritty and suspenseful mystery, a police procedural that’ll have you on the edge of your seat, heart racing more than once. Highly recommend!

4.5⭐️

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy; this is an honest review, as always. Three Little Birds is out now.

It was the disappearance of her friend Lizzie that steered Dr. Carla Steele in the direction of facial reconstruction in order to put a face to a missing person when only bones remain. She is called in by DS Jack Maguire when bones are found at the bottom of the Lough. When a woman is found brutally murdered close by, Grace Franciosi, Carla's partner & a criminal psychologist, joins them to solve the case.

This is a fast paced police procedural. The perspective of an expert in facial reconstruction was an interesting one & the story kept me engaged. I liked the chemistry between the characters - nice not to have friction messing things up! The setting also added to the story. I hope this is the start of a series- it certainly has the promise of one. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I chose this book, because of its crime theme. Years ago, the Netherlands was shaken by a high-profile murder case that received international attention and was widely reported in the media. Eventually, a reconstruction of the little girl’s head was made based on her skull and published in the media, as she had not been identified for a long time.
I remember how impressed I was when a face suddenly emerged from a clay version.

This crime thriller is set on the west coast of Ireland, where Carla Steele works as an anthropologist specialising in facial reconstructions. Carla often thinks back to her childhood friend, who disappeared without a trace. She still hopes to find her.

In the beginning, many people (and their families) are introduced very quickly.
At first, I found it difficult to tell everyone apart and had to keep wondering who was who.
The story picks up rather slowly, interspersed with rather graphic descriptions of the victim, so to other readers, esp. for the visual thinkers, a word of warning: you need to have a strong stomach for this. I found it unfortunate that some parts of the book were slow. The book itself is reminiscent of CSI and of Bones (Temperance Brennan).

I’m a fan of the author and thought Three Little Birds sounded like a good thriller. I enjoyed it a look. The meaning of the title didn’t become clear to me until quite far into the book. This offers everything you’d expect from a decent thriller – fast pace, plenty of action and drama, twists and turns and excellent characters to carry the story. I liked the way the major revelations unfolded and how the full story doesn’t emerge until late in the book. I had no idea what if anything connected the skull and the recent murders.

Three Little Birds is a dark and twisty story that kept me intrigued throughout. I found it to be a little slow in places but overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for my ARC.

What a fantastic read!
Setting,characters,storyline perfect.
Quite shocking,definitely grisly at times,totally absorbing.
Loved reading every page,this book is ,a sure-fire winner..

I really enjoyed this book
Dr. Carla steele is a facial re construction expert and when a skull is found, she is called in to try and help identify them.. carla had a friend dissappear years before and she has never been found. Is she still alive? Where is she? Carla along with her partner at work and home try to piece together the skulls identity.. ive recently started reading sam blakes books and ive loved the ones ive read, highley recommend

I read Three Little Birds over a couple of days. It’s a dark and twisty thriller that kept me enthralled to the end. It’s a long novel but my interest never wavered and I was keen to see how it concluded. A great police procedural that o can highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, Atlantic Books and the author for the chance to review.

Dr Carla Steele is a facial reconstruction expert working within Garda HQ in Dublin. Upon hearing that a skull was discovered in Loch Coyne, Carla’s interest is piqued. Visiting the site, she wants to gather information about not only whose skull it is, but how they lived their life. She and partner Grace – a criminal psychologist – team up with DS Jack Maguire and the trio work together nicely… which is handy, as a body is later discovered in the area. All three will have different skills and insights on hand to help solve the whodunnit. To be able to maintain a reader’s attention over 500 pages, keeping them turning the pages, also takes skill and once again, Sam has demonstrated her writing prowess.

A new writer to me but one I am looking forward to reading more of. The combination of Dr Carla Steele, a facial reconstruction expert, her partner Grace Franciosi, a criminal psychologist, and local Garda DS Jack Maguire are a formidable team and I hope this will develop into a series. Gripping stuff.

Once again, Sam Blake has smashed it! This is a definite five star read with a gripping storyline and great characters that you like straight away!! I’ll tell you a little about it…..
A skull is discovered under water in a sleepy town called Lough Coyne, and skull reconstruction expert Carla meets Jack Maguire the police man involved in the case as he brings the skull remains to her. Her girlfriend (Grace),is a criminal psychologist, and she books a weekend at Lough Coyne to mix business with pleasure. It’s a beautiful setting and as they’re about to go explore, Jack calls with news of a local business woman being found murdered in a really gruesome way.
I love how the whole story has clues dropped in to make you think about who could be the culprit and also that the reader knows what’s happening within the police procedures too. All in all, a fantastic story to get your teeth into!!!
Many thanks to Corvus Books for the chance to read this arc copy via Netgalley.
#Netgalley, #corvusbooks, #samblakebooks

An intriguing murder investigation with subplots. Carla works with forensic facial reconstruction which provides interesting insights but I didn’t really engage with the main characters. The book has the bonus of a beautiful Irish setting.